Happy Independence Day!

I made it through the holiday spending time with the family instead of out and about Austin or DFW, as I would have liked to do. For the sake of nostalgia, I wandered down to Yettie Polk Park and checked out the fiddlers, fried food, and fair fun. I was tempted to buy a bottle-top necklace with the Texas flag painted on it, but held back. It would be a little cheesy for me to walk around PA with a Texas flag around my neck, right?

Dad grilled burgers today-- and pineapple to top them with! Oh gosh, that was AMAZING. We've definitely made burgers withe pineapple in the meat in Denton, but I have never put a fat chunk of fresh, grilled pineapple on my burger. That's called fireworks in the mouth!

I finished J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey today which was a worthwhile read. I almost wish I had read it a few years ago, about the time I was reading Siddhartha. They would have complimented one another well. I've been in a spiritual funk, and honestly-- I don't mind it. I just have never been one for putting religion or spirituality on the back burner. It's nice almost, not thinking and just accepting. I don't have energy for religious seriousness anymore, I burnt it all out as a teenager, and maybe that's OK. I never want to be religious again anyway. But to deny the spiritual self is to deny a lot of life. Even practicing yoga would bring a little of that awareness back to me, and I'd like that.

The fireworks were nice, but not the best I'd ever seen. I almost wish I had gone alone. I hope next year I can celebrate the Fourth in Philadelphia, or New York, or D.C. Somewhere with a wild, raucous celebration!

Happy Fourth of July!